Restorations

1635 Ioannes Ruckers harpsichord

This Ruckers was unknown before it was sold at auction in 1996. It was originally a single with the unique (for Ruckers) disposition of 2 x 8’, 1 x 4’. The normal disposition of Ruckers harpsichords was 1 x 8’, 1 x 4’. To add the second unison choir, the space of each semitone was made one eighth wider. This meant that the overall width of the instrument is also approximately one eighth wider than normal 45 note singles. There is evidence that the octave span of the original Ruckers keyboard was close to 185 mm, instead of the more normal 167 mm. Because the unusual width complicated the normal shop layout procedures, there is a great deal more information scribed on the bottom than would normally be found on a Ruckers harpsichord. 

The instrument went through two petits ravallements in the 18^th century. In the first, ca. 1700, it was converted to a double with a range of 48 notes, C, D-c³. The original keyboard and action were discarded and the front of the instrument extended for the second manual. The bridges were repinned for a much closer string spacing. It received new keyboards with a sliding upper manual to couple, as well as new jacks and slides. The style of the work suggests that it might have been done in Alsace. The second ravellement occurred later in the 18^th century –a scratched out date on a jack might read 1786 or possibly 1756. This work increased the keyboard range to BB-d³ and converted the action to a dog-leg. The added keys and jacks were recycled from other instruments. 

A modern era restoration was recorded in 1909. The instrument had two-thirds of its original jacks replaced, and received a new lid, stand, and decoration. At some later time, the entire interior of the case, soundboard, and strings were covered with a heavy coat of brown varnish. Our restoration was done from 2001-2004. Our work involved extensive repairs to the case, soundboard, and action. Despite two major historical interventions, the instrument had never been opened. We made a new lid and stand, as well as two registers of new jacks. The soundboard painting was thoroughly cleaned and in-painted. We left the instrument as close as possible to its mid-18^th century state. 

1627 Ioannes Ruckers harpsichord

The 1627 Ioannes Ruckers started out life as a normal four-pitch (sic) double with the slightly unusual upper manual range of GG/BB-c³, rather than the standard C/E-c³. The lower manual was the usual C/E-f³, pitched a fourth lower than the upper. 

In 1701 it underwent a petit ravallement, almost certainly at the hand of Nicholas Blanchet in Paris. Blanchet replaced the Ruckers action with his own, adding one note for a compass of GG/BB-c³ with split keys for BB/E-flat. He added a second 8’ register, repinned the 4’, and raised the 8’ hitchpin rail in the bass. He made a new lid, had a new stand made, and painted the instrument black.  

It is possible that this Ruckers spent the 18^th and 19^th centuries at the Château de Villebon in the Loire Valley, as it was found there at the beginning of the 20^th century. It passed through the hands of Marcel Salomon, the Parisian collector and dealer, in the 1920’s, with a restoration recorded in 1924.

Our restoration took place from 2007-2009. Major repairs were made to the case, soundboard, and stand. The soundboard painting was cleaned and in-painted. Much of the mischief done to the action in 1924 was corrected, including reconstructing the split keys for BB/E-flat and making new jacks. The 1924 chinoiserie on green was removed and the instrument painted black with gilt details. We left the instrument as close as possible to its 1701 state.

Anonymous Spanish harpsichord

This instrument was reportedly made in Salamanca and was discovered at a convent in the 1970’s. It has a keyboard range of BB-c³ and a 2 x 8’ disposition. Although clearly Spanish, it was perhaps made by an immigrant German organ builder sometime in the first half of the 18^th century. 

This instrument was first restored by Johannes Carda in Paris for Rafael Puyana, a former owner. Our restoration in 2006-7 refined some of Carda’s work, including restringing in brass wire, repairing the mostly original jacks, and straightening the keyboard. We also made a new Spanish-style stand. 

1707 Nicholas Dumont harpsichord

This well-known instrument is the first known example of what became the standard Parisian harpsichord until the 1750s. Family records show that it had been at the Château du Touvet in Isère since 1719. At the time of the Revolution it was stuffed into the château granary and remained there until rediscovered in the early 1970’s. It was first restored by Hubert Bédard in 1975-6, who reconstructed many missing and ruined elements. Another restoration was done by Bédard’s former apprentice, Dominique Laperle, in 1995. 

Our restoration was done from 2010-2012. We found ourselves undoing much of Bédard‘s and Laperle’s work, as well as an anonymous repair which must have occurred before 1719. This repair had addressed a major case failure and had impeded the soundboard in the treble with added wood, without quite solving a basic weakness in Dumont’s framing. We reconstructed Dumont’s original treble framing with an additional stabilizing brace across the cheek corner. We did numerous repairs to the case and soundboard. The soundboard painting was cleaned and retouched with the help of photographs taken by Sheridan Germann when she first cleaned it in 1976. The keys were tightened, straightened, and leveled. We made new jacks to complement the 27 odd original jacks, as well as new slides and lower guides. Our restoration returned the instrument to its pre-1719 state with the case failure solved in a different way. 

1768 Ioannes Goermans harpsichord

This instrument is a quintessential late 18^th century Parisian harpsichord and the last by this Dutch-born maker. It had been restored in the 1920’s and again by Bernard von Tücher in 2000, who installed modern jacks and slides. Our 2012-2014 restoration involved extensive case, stand, and soundboard repair, as well as a thorough cleaning and retouching of the soundboard painting. We found ourselves replacing several non-original keys and made all new jacks, slides, and lower guides, copied from other Goermans instruments. 

Anonymous 17^th c Italian octave harpsichord

This is a typical –if diminutive– 17^th century-style Italian harpsichord, made of cypress and placed in an outer case. The string lengths suggest that it was intended to be strung in iron and tuned an octave high of mezzo punto pitch of about a¹=465. If a signature on the bottom of its outer case is to be believed, this instrument was built by Antonio Fedeli of Camerino in Umbria in 1630. Other dates on the jacks record repairs as late as 1801. From the decoration of the outer case, it had most likely passed through the hands of the notorious Florentine dealer, Leopoldo Franciolini, in the early 20^th century. It had been repaired at least once in more recent times. Our 2014-2016 restoration involved removing the soundboard for extensive repairs, making numerous repairs to the case and action, and resurrecting Franciolini’s rather delicate decoration. 

Anonymous late 17^th century French single manual harpsichord

This instrument is plausibly attributed to Antoine Lefebrve, Toulouse, ca. 1680, based on similarities to a signed spinet which shares the same unique interior rim paper. This instrument is strung in iron and pitched at a fourth above a¹=392. This instrument had been well restored in 1981 by Miles Hellon. Our 2018-2019 restoration mostly built on his work. We did a more detailed cleaning and in-painting of the soundboard decoration, also repaired new cracks which had appeared in the past 30 years. The marvelous rim paper was cleaned and the many missing areas recreated through the magic of Photoshop. The gap had narrowed over time, freezing the jack slides. This was corrected by the installation of two gap-spacers. Some minor repairs, straightening, and leveling was done to the keyboard.